Education: ETS Investigation

Ah, I love the smell of deadlines in the air. It’s that time of year again! College applications are back and with early decision deadlines right around the corner, things just got a lot more nerve wracking for thousands of Chinese and South Korean students as their SAT scores are being withheld due to cheating allegations. In a prepared statement, the Educational Testing Service said the decision was “based on specific, reliable information,” referring to “organizations that seek to illegally obtain test materials for their own profit, to the ultimate detriment of all students.” Tom Ewing, a spokesman for the Educational Testing Service, says the company is investigating allegations as quickly as possible and that results will be delivered by mid-November, in time for students to submit early decision applications. This is not the first time overseas SAT tests have been ravaged by cheating scandals, in previous years, students in East Asia have been accused of acquiring and sharing test questions in advance, particularly at test preparation schools. In May of last year, those accusations led to cancellation of the SAT in South Korea and the voiding of 900 scores from South Korea in 2007.